craftguide and HVAC Guild Munich launch digital education program for the skilled crafts sector
Free use: interactive video courses for all HVAC member companies and their employees
Image source: craftguide
craftguide, provider of digital learning content for vocational and industrial training, today announces the start of a cooperation with the HVAC Guild Munich (sanitary, heating and air-conditioning technology). Starting this educational year, the roughly one thousand trainees will be able to learn skilled craft work techniques independently in interactive video tutorials. Currently, more than 40 use cases or video tutorials are available in the areas of electrical engineering (stripping cables), assembly technology (bending pipes) or plumbing (hard and soft soldering). With a tablet, the necessary tools and materials, the craftguide app guides the trainee step by step through a visualized workflow, for example, the professional bending of a pipe by 90 degrees. In this way, they can train themselves and repeat content regardless of their current learning level and location.
The use of the app is to become a regular part of the lessons, and the HVAC Guild is providing the necessary tablets for this purpose. "Training will continue to take place through face-to-face interaction, but digital content can cover and compensate for knowledge deficits or advances," says Ralf Suhre, managing director of the HVAC Guild Munich. "craftguide is a very good way to pick up apprentices in their world. Learning on a smartphone or via VR glasses is really fun for the apprentices. We need to make apprenticeships more attractive."
The approximately 600 training companies that are members of the HVAC Guild of Munich receive access to the craftguide platform for their employees for free. This means that a total of around 12,000 skilled craftsmen in Bavaria can benefit from the offer. All they have to do is pull out their smartphone and view the content of their guild in the craftguide app.
Image source: craftguide
From video to virtual reality: craftguide transforms training content into digital content
The individual training companies usually work with two to three manufacturers. This is where the circle closes, because some manufacturers are already customers of craftguide: The start-up from Munich combines the product knowledge of the machine and plant manufacturers with the educational institutions' application expertise. With its platform, craftguide provides the digital infrastructure to offer the produced content to target groups via all possible end devices and channels. The courses can be delivered and accessed via the craftguide app on a smartphone or tablet, via a web player or - if desired - via virtual reality (VR) or augmented reality (AR) glasses.
The more digitized learning content is available on the craftguide platform, the greater its benefit for all participants. To ensure that the knowledge content can be scaled easily and quickly, craftguide empowers the experts on site: the trainers create videos from a first-person perspective, define the individual work steps and provide them with text sections per learning unit. The result is an interactive video tutorial that can either be used one-to-one or serve as a template for other outputs. Manufacturers have the option to combine the instructional content with the CAD machine and tool data and provide it as a VR or AR application or 3D rendering.
Some manufacturers already use craftguide courses for standardized work processes (assembly, maintenance or repair of machines and systems) as well as for sales, marketing or service. Trainees can thus link the world of knowledge of the brands and that of their trade.
Image source: craftguide
Image source: craftguide
Image source: craftguide
Integration of the learning content into the HVAC curriculum
The contents and structure of the training are based on the vocational or industry curriculum and the German Qualification Framework. An example: Based on the higher-level curriculum for plant mechanics for sanitary, heating and air-conditioning technology, there are various learning fields, such as "Manufacturing construction elements with hand-held tools". Underneath this, the core competency "pipe machining" is developed. This core competency consists of various competency elements such as pipe connections, pipe bending, workpiece and materials science. The "tube bending" competency element is in a basic course package consisting of various craftguide courses.
"We are very pleased to be able to make a new start in knowledge transfer together with SHK Munich," says Johannes Nies, CEO of craftguide.
